2 UA graduate students to meet Nobel laureates

Students selected for prestigious meetings at conference in Germany

By Ed EnochStaff Writer

Published: Friday, June 21, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, June 20, 2013 at 11:26 p.m.

Two graduate students from the University of Alabama scheduled to attend the annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Germany describe the event as an exciting chance to interact with some of the brightest minds in science.

“I think it is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Michele Stover said of the chance to meet the Nobel Prize winners and other students.

Stover, 25, of Moselle, Miss., and fellow doctoral student in chemistry Steven Kelley will be among 625 graduate students from 78 countries who will meet with 35 Nobel laureates from June 30 to July 5 in Lindau, Germany. The meeting will include lectures by the laureates, discussion sessions, master classes and panel discussions.

Among the main topics at this year’s meeting is “green chemistry,” which seeks to make chemical production as energy-efficient and environmentally friendly as possible, according to a release from UA.

The annual meeting, started in 1951 as a way to foster contact between scientists following World War II, offers the graduate students the opportunity to exchange knowledge and ideas with the laureates, according to the meeting’s website.

Kelley, 25, of Olive Branch, Miss., and Stover were nominated by the university to attend, according to professors Robin Rogers and David Dixon, who both hold a Robert Ramsay Chair of Chemistry at UA.

Student participants are selected following a multistage nomination process. Students, who must be 35 and younger, must apply to be nominated by one of the meeting’s academic partners, according to the Lindau Meeting website. After successfully being chosen as a nominee by an academic partner, the students must complete profiles to be reviewed by the Lindau selection committee.

Oak Ridge Associated Universities was the nominating partner for Kelley and the U.S. National Science Foundation nominated Stover, Dixon said the organizations will pay for the students’ trip to Germany.

The professors said the meeting is an opportunity for the students to interact with the laureates professionally and socially.

Rogers and Dixon said some of their former students have attended previous meetings.

“They always come back completely energized,” Rogers said.

Kelley, a fourth-year graduate student in organic chemistry researching actinides, said he is excited about the opportunity to discuss research-related problems with the laureates and fellow graduate students, everything from the science to how to promote their research.

Stover, a third-year graduate student in physical chemistry researching bio-molecules and peptides, shares Kelley’s enthusiasm for the chance to network with other graduate students, predicting the relationships begun in Germany will endure beyond the meeting.

<p>Two graduate students from the University of Alabama scheduled to attend the annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Germany describe the event as an exciting chance to interact with some of the brightest minds in science. </p><p>“I think it is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Michele Stover said of the chance to meet the Nobel Prize winners and other students. </p><p>Stover, 25, of Moselle, Miss., and fellow doctoral student in chemistry Steven Kelley will be among 625 graduate students from 78 countries who will meet with 35 Nobel laureates from June 30 to July 5 in Lindau, Germany. The meeting will include lectures by the laureates, discussion sessions, master classes and panel discussions.</p><p>Among the main topics at this year's meeting is “green chemistry,” which seeks to make chemical production as energy-efficient and environmentally friendly as possible, according to a release from UA.</p><p>The annual meeting, started in 1951 as a way to foster contact between scientists following World War II, offers the graduate students the opportunity to exchange knowledge and ideas with the laureates, according to the meeting's website. </p><p>Kelley, 25, of Olive Branch, Miss., and Stover were nominated by the university to attend, according to professors Robin Rogers and David Dixon, who both hold a Robert Ramsay Chair of Chemistry at UA.</p><p>Student participants are selected following a multistage nomination process. Students, who must be 35 and younger, must apply to be nominated by one of the meeting's academic partners, according to the Lindau Meeting website. After successfully being chosen as a nominee by an academic partner, the students must complete profiles to be reviewed by the Lindau selection committee.</p><p>Oak Ridge Associated Universities was the nominating partner for Kelley and the U.S. National Science Foundation nominated Stover, Dixon said the organizations will pay for the students' trip to Germany.</p><p>The professors said the meeting is an opportunity for the students to interact with the laureates professionally and socially.</p><p>Rogers and Dixon said some of their former students have attended previous meetings. </p><p>“They always come back completely energized,” Rogers said. </p><p>Kelley, a fourth-year graduate student in organic chemistry researching actinides, said he is excited about the opportunity to discuss research-related problems with the laureates and fellow graduate students, everything from the science to how to promote their research.</p><p>Stover, a third-year graduate student in physical chemistry researching bio-molecules and peptides, shares Kelley's enthusiasm for the chance to network with other graduate students, predicting the relationships begun in Germany will endure beyond the meeting. </p><p>“They are going to be my peers for the rest of my life,” Stover said.</p>